The Hit[m]an (PendragonXeno94+Kei])

[PendragonXeno94]

As Evanna asked for water and takoyaki, Asahi nodded and ran off to grab a glass of water for both of them.

"I apologize," said Isao. "It's a habit of mine to not speak English with him. But he's alright." He straightened himself a little, taking the glass of water from Asahi who started working his magic. He handed her art supplies to her as he didn't want to accidentally get anything on her sketch. "I prefer coming in when there aren't many people in here. This place gets packed by about eight every night."

"Don't wanna be caught in the middle of a group of girls again?" said Asahi, grinning from ear to ear as he kept slicing up the fish.

"That one group had too much sake that night." He was about to say something else when a few others walked in, yelling greetings from the other end and beaming at Evanna. They seemed to be whispering and giggling to themselves as they disappeared into the back. "Don't pay them any mind, Evanna," he told her. "They're not used to me coming in with someone else."

[Kei]

Green eyes turned to regard her companion before finally Evanna sighed and took a steady breath before smiling over to her companion. "It's fine, I'm the tourist so I really have no reason to be annoyed by my own lack of understanding. I know a few words, just enough to get by, and I hate not knowing when things are getting said. It's a thing, don't worry about it. I'm not really offended or anything." She watched Isao straighten himself a bit more as he accepted the offered water while the chef began preparing their meal. She took her sketchbook back from him and ran her fingertips gently against the embroidered cover. Green eyes went gentle and a fondness filled them as she looked at the thing. "You know, my mother made this for me when I was still very young. She said it would let me show everyone else the unique way I view the world. She was right, but that hasn't always been a good thing. Still, I'm glad you took good care of it while you held it, so thank you."

She nodded at his comment about his preference for coming to the place early to avoid the crowd, and listened to the teasing from the chef with quiet interest before straightening up as others walked in and yelled their own greetings to Isao. The did seem to be a lively bunch, but she could do without the looks they were giving her. Not to mention the giggling made her feel like she was suddenly on display for their amusement and she hated that. She heard them whispering to one another, but couldn't hear the words before they disappeared into the back of the building and Isao spoke to her again. She could only shrug, but she did see where they were coming from she supposed. "So that means you come here a lot, but usually alone, right? Are those people friends of yours? Everyone that sees you seems keen to tease you about my being here with you.  Is it really such an odd thing for you to have someone with you?"

Experience had given her a healthy wariness towards doing anything that would draw attention to herself, so if being around Isao was going to keep causing these moments she wasn't sure how much she liked the notion of staying near him. Which was silly because he was just being kind and she likely wouldn't see him after this. Thus she decided to just sort of grin and bare it. Putting her sketchbook into her bag, she instead turned her gaze to watch the chef prepare their meal. She was running out of small talk when he didn't exactly talk back and thus was at a loss as to how to keep the conversation going. Normally she was good at things like this, but she wasn't used to having a man that clearly had better things to do being so kind and attentive to her. It baffled her to no end and she found herself reluctantly intrigued which made it harder to interact.

[PendragonXeno94]

Isao smiled as Evanna ran her fingers over the cover. "Well, I'm glad nothing happened to it then while it was under my care." He, too, could have done without the group acting the way they did when they saw him and Evanna together. "I do. Because I come in by myself so often, I get teased whenever I bring someone with me and they ask why I didn't bring them in the next time I come in alone. But they are my friends in a sense. They don't really mean anything by it." It was a little patronizing at this point, and these people were used to the fact that he hardly dated... or had an outing with anyone. Not hearing Evanna go on made him realize that he hadn't really been talking that much, so he did his best to think of something.

"Where exactly are you from?" he asked. He couldn't quite pin down the specific area she would be from. She was either very well known in her area or the town she was from was rather small. Possibly both.

"Isao doesn't talk much, if you hadn't noticed," Asahi added, hoping to break the silence a little and almost scaring himself with the flame that rose from the pan. "It's nothing! Just- Just part of it!"

Isao rolled his eyes, trying his best not to laugh.

[Kei]

Evanna shook her head slightly, sort of annoyed on behalf of her new friend. "And it's never occurred to them that you don't bring people here with you precisely because they behave this way? I don't blame you for eating here alone if this is the reception you get with company." She blew out a breath and ran a hand through her hair; pulling it down from it's loose braid in the process. She then regained control of herself and settled her ruffled feathers. "Even if they don't mean anything by it, it certainly acts as a deterrent for people wanting to spend time with you. But that's just my opinion." She let things fall to silence then and was happy when Isao picked back up the conversation.

She gave him a smile for his efforts, getting the distinct impression he wasn't good at this either even before his friend commented about him not talking much. She rolled her eyes at the man, hiding a little smirk when his fire got a bit out of hand because of his distraction before turning her gaze back up to meet Isao's once more. "I live in Chicago if that's what you're asking. Well...most of the time at least. My mother is from the Scottish Isles so I spend a few months each year there visiting her side of the family. It's sort of a tradition. But mostly I live in Chicago the same as my father." Which explained why she hadn't been overwhelmed by the bustling crowds of Kyoto, but that was besides the point.

She considered that Isao wasn't much of a talker before giving him another warm smile and picking the conversation up again. "It's fine not to enjoy small talk, you know, I'm not always a talker either. So long as we can enjoy each other's company while we're together, that's all that really matters. If it's easier for you, I know how to keep a conversation going even if the person I'm talking to isn't much of a talker. I don't mind, if you'd like. It's not like I haven't had enough strange and random things happen to me in my life not to have enough stories to keep others entertained." She'd had to learn how to interact in a crowd from a young age. And as he'd invited her here for lunch, she felt she should contribute in some manner.

[PendragonXeno94]

"I guess they don't mean anything by it, but..." He did wish that they would stop giving him a hard time whenever he was not alone. When Evanna mentioned that she lived in Chicago, he nodded. "I've yet to go to there or the Scottish Isles. I've heard so much about them." He looked over at Asahi, seeing that he managed to get the fire under control and continued on. "I grew up in Sapporo until I was fifteen and moved here."

While he didn't mind her wanting to be the one to carry the conversation, he figured that he should put in some effort to it as well. He was once again kept from speaking when Asahi placed takoyaki in front of Evanna and a bowl of zosui in front of Isao.

"Enjoy!" Asahi said happily.

Isao dipped his head slightly before he took a few bites. "I don't mind," he told Evanna, "but I thought I should be taking a turn asking a few questions. Do you have anyone waiting for you back home?"

[Kei]

Evanna gave a half smile at the reaction Isao had to where she was from. "You aren't missing much with Chicago. It has it's charm, sure, but it's like any large city. Don't get me wrong I love my home, it's just...not where my heart is." Her expression went warm and gentle as she thought about the other place she'd grown up and her eyes went distant as she explained. "The Isles though...there's no place like them. The fog that floats in the early morning air like wisps of things forgotten, the sun coming up over the loch, the history in every inch of the earth. Scotland is a place that is alive in a way that few other places on this planet are. It's my favorite place to be and I miss it when I have to leave. You should go experience it yourself if you get the chance." As it was, the only reason she didn't live there was it held memories of her mother that weren't all pleasant for her.

She gave herself another mental shake to clear her mind of times gone passed and listened as her companion explained where he grew up. The name didn't mean much to her, but she made a mental note to research the area once she got back to her hotel room later. She looked up as her food was suddenly placed in front of her and took a moment to poke at it curiously before taking a tentative bite and grinning up at Isao over the taste. "It's different, but it's really good. Thanks for suggesting this to me." She dipped her head politely to the chef before focusing back on her companion and her meal even as he answered her words about holding the conversation herself before announcing his intentions to take a turn asking her questions. His first question gave her pause and she frowned in consideration before nodding to herself.

She curled her arms around herself, holding tightly to her arms even as a troubled expression crossed her face before she made herself settle again and answer his question. "If you mean family, yes I have people back home. My father, my two brothers, my.....uncles.." She winced at the word 'uncles' but what else could she call the men her father trusted the most? She bit lightly at her bottom lip for a moment, feeling troubled again and wondering if her father would send them after her again when she failed to return back to him in the timely manner he expected her to. That wouldn't be good, they often weren't gentle with her when she went against them. Still...no use worrying about it now, it wasn't like they knew where she was just now. She had some time before that happened, so she was going to enjoy the freedom while it lasted.

Her expression cleared and she shrugged, making her tone lighter and deliberately teasing. "But if you meant other than family the answer to that is no. I've dated plenty, sure, but my family is a bit protective of me since I'm the only girl in the family right now." She turned her gaze up to meet Isao's and nudged the conversation right back on him. "What about you, got someone waiting or are you more the 'lone wolf' type?" She snorted in amusement at her own joke, but honestly she pegged Isao as someone that preferred commitmentless ties to anything serious. He reminded her too much of her 'uncles' for her not to think so. Still, she wasn't going to believe she was that unlucky.

[PendragonXeno94]

Isao nodded, figuring he would eventually go to Chicago just to say that he did. He took another bite of his food as she described the Scottish Isles to him. It almost sounded lovely, minus the fog. He chuckled as Evanna took a bite out of her food before letting him know that she liked it.  "I thought you would."  As she talked about her family, he noticed that she winced at the mention of her uncles. But he wasn't exactly surprised when she mentioned that she didn't have a boyfriend. He figured it was a good thing as she made it sound like she would be staying for a while.

"No," he said. "I've dated here and there, but I'm not seeing anyone right now. Most don't really stay after they find out some things."

Asahi hung his head for a moment, not daring to say another word at that moment.

"Do you know how long you're staying, exactly?" Isao was already becoming wary as to why she was here, and his best guess at that moment was it had something to do with her uncles. But, of course, he could be looking into it too much.

[Kei]

The conversation turned towards the food and a bit into their personal lives; something Evanna was sort of grateful for as it gave her a chance to compose herself after speaking about her family. Though something about the way Isao had explained his lack of having someone important to him struck her as wrong and she took the chance to reach out to lightly touch his arm in a comforting gesture. He'd touched her shoulder before, so this should be acceptable. She looked up into his eyes and gave him a gentle smile as he hung his head after admitting he couldn't keep a girl with him after she learned some things about him. "With all respect to those you've chosen to get close to in the past, anyone that would abandon you without ever trying to accept all of who you are never deserved your attention in the first place."

She dropped her head for a moment, knowing she was just the same with people at times, before continuing. "I know it's not my place to say since we've only just met, but you seem like a kind man. I like to think that, when the time is right, you'll come across that person that'll stay when you tell her things that chase others away. And maybe you won't even be looking when it happens, but I think it will. That's probably just  my being naive or something, but it's what I believe in any case." She dropped her hand away from him and moved over a bit to give him some space. It was just part of her nature to be kind to others who were clearly troubled about something so personal, so she hoped he didn't get offended or anything. He was fun to talk to, and Isao was also one big enigma to her that she sort of wanted to figure out.

His query about how long she was staying caught her off guard for a moment before she shrugged. "The plan was to stay a month then reevaluate some things. If I'm lucky, I'll get to spend the entire three months I set aside for this vacation instead of having it interrupted by my well meaning family being worried about me." She rubbed at her arm as if it hurt as she remembered the ways she'd been brought back in the past. Nope, best to keep her mind on more pleasant things.

[PendragonXeno94]

Isao was caught off guard when Evanna touched his shoulder. Her kind words had an effect to an extent, though he gave her a slight smile. "Evanna, I'm thirty-four. Do you know how much I've accepted that I might not find anyone at this point?" Shaking his head, he patted her hand before resuming. "But thank you. You're not being naive, I don't think." He couldn't remember the last time someone told him that he was a kind man and that he deserved happiness.

When he heard that she was likely staying one to three months, he sighed. Of course she wasn't staying longer than that. She had no reason to. He chose not to say anything about her family as he didn't want to feel like she was prodding her too much. He took a few more bites, noticing that Asahi went down to the other end to interact with another couple that had walked in. He quickly assessed them, deciding that he had never seen them before.

"Why do you think that I'll eventually find someone?" he asked.

[Kei]

Evanna blinked at the reaction her touch brought about, though the smile she got afterwards settled her frazzled nerves quite a bit. He hadn't been expecting her to touch him, but at least he hadn't really reacted badly to it. Besides, she got a thank you out of it and that really meant something to her. She let him pat her hand and offered him a gentle returned smile when he finally stopped touching her. She turned in her seat to face him better as she watched the disappointment cross his face at the knowledge of how long she was staying here. That was interesting, but it was his gaze lingering on a couple down the bar that really caught and held her attention.

Eventually he asked her why she felt he'd find someone, even at his age and her smile was back as she shifted her gaze back to his. "Everyone deserves to find that someone to be their hand to hold, Isao, no matter who they are. And your age has nothing to do with it. My father was your age when he met my mother, so it's not like it's rare or anything to meet your special person later in life. The way I see it, the longer you have to wait the more worth it meeting that person becomes when it finally does happen. I'm still relatively young so maybe I shouldn't be saying any of this, but as many people as have left me just because I didn't fit into their ideal of what I should be, I think I at least have an idea of what it means to have to wait. I don't expect I'll meet my someone for a long while yet either, but I know I'll find him someday."

She fell silent for a long moment, considering things and letting her words sink in, before finally deciding her path for the rest of the day. "You know, once we're finished here I do seem to remember a certain someone offering to show me the sights here in Kyoto. We should definitely do that, and if we don't get to see everything today...Well then there's always tomorrow." This was the most bold she'd ever been so she was fighting off being embarrassed by her actions and eventually she won out as she kept on talking with a quiet sort of confidence that she only partially truly felt. "I always try to live in the moment because you never know what's going to happen next. I really love this city, it's different and amazing and alive in a way Chicago isn't for me. It's one reason I chose to come on vacation here; I want to find a place where I can live that I love."

She shrugged, turning her gaze back to her food before finally telling him an unasked for truth she felt he probably did want to know.  "Honestly, I'm here on vacation but if I can get things to work out I was thinking about making this city home for a while. I haven't decided yet though, and I'm sure my family will have things to say about it, so I'm just...trying to enjoy myself for a while until I decide." Because things would become very dangerous for her if she decided she was staying. Her father wouldn't like it, neither would her brothers. It was a risk, but in the two weeks she'd already been in this city she'd really fallen in love with it, so maybe it was worth it.

She went silent again for a long while, eating her food before something occurred to her and she looked up at her companion once more. "Why are you so sure you won't find anyone? Why accept it as fact just because it hasn't happened for you yet?" It was a loaded question, she knew, but she was curious and he'd basically invited the question by asking her first.

[PendragonXeno94]

Once again, Isao shook his head, a slight smile crossing his lips. "That's nice to know..." He mentally shook the thought of her wanting to be his so called hand to hold, figuring that it was unlikely and that she was better off with someone closer to her age. "And by relatively young, you mean... maybe twenty? Twenty-one?" The teasing question was just something to keep his unease at bay, though he wasn't exactly sure why he was now feeling uneasy. Bringing his gaze back to the couple, he hardly gave them a second glance before moving to finish his meal. Though, he did overhear that the couple had just eloped and they wanted to just get away for a few days.

He stopped mid-bite when Evanna said she wanted him to show her around and possibly do more sightseeing the following day. "I didn't think you liked older men," he teased before clearing his throat. "I mean, I did offer, didn't I?" Mentally chastising himself for the comment, he simply continued to eat, letting her reveal why she was there. "Well, I hope you do stay. If that's what you want."

A sigh escaped him. "My line of work makes it difficult to maintain an actual relationship." When they were finished eating, he left some yen on the counter, to which Asahi rushed over and patted his back while telling him it was good to see him again.

"You take care," Asahi said to Evanna.

Isao held the door for her before walking beside her. "There are a few castles in the central district and a large market. Or we can take a train to another part of town and see what's there."

[Kei]

She couldn't help the small, amused chuckle that left her because she clearly seemed to have caught her companion off guard with her words. Then he questioned her age and she shrugged. "If it matters I'll turn twenty in a few days." She watched him regarding the couple next to them until he turned at her comment about being shown around. She snorted then actually started laughing at his teasing about her liking older men. The sound was light and husky and lit her green eyes with amusement before she contained herself. It was just too good not to tease him back over it. "I agreed to have lunch with you, didn't I? Besides, age is only a number and is only as important as we make it. Besides, the company is nice and definitely easy on the eyes." She gave him a cheeky grin before settling back to eat the rest of her food.

She let him change the subject, but there was now a faint lilt to her tone as she teased him; a hint of her Scottish heritage showing through. "Yes, you did offer, did you think I'd forget? It's a big city, and I'd never know where to start. I've been here for two weeks now and have barely seen anything. Besides that, you're good company and I've enjoyed spending time around you for what that's worth to you." And it wasn't like she was flirting, not really, she was just teasing him. Not that he wasn't attractive, because he certainly was, but she figured he got enough of that from others without her mucking about with it. And it didn't matter anyway, this was just harmless banter and it wasn't like he was interested in her. So what was the harm in enjoying themselves with a bit of time together?

She nodded over his comment about hoping she stayed, but didn't respond, choosing to finish her meal in comfortable silence. Though when he admitted his line of work made it difficult to maintain relationships, she shrugged and gave him a smile. "My mother used to tell me that anything worth truly having is worth the extra work put into it. It's going to take someone special to stick with you, I think, but I still feel you'll find that person some day." Thought it did make her even more curious as to what exactly it was he did for a living because 'business' wasn't exactly it she was beginning to think. Not long after they were both finished eating and Isao paid the tab and she inclined her head to Asahi and thanked him politely for the wonderful meal.

She was really pleased that Isao held the door for her and then moved to walk next to her, speaking about places to visit. Green eyes lit at the mention of castles.  "There are castles here?! That I have to see!" She knew she sounded as excited as she felt, but that was fine. This was going to be fun.

[PendragonXeno94]

He nodded, at least relieved that she wasn't as young as he initially thought she was, but he wasn't too far off on his guess; he did make a mental note to try and do something for her birthday even if it wasn't much. Her laugh took him aback as he was worried that she would have disliked his comment about her liking older men. "Well, I suppose age doesn't have to matter to a certain extent," he said. "There are, of course, times where the line has to be drawn." Her teasing made him chuckle, shaking his head again.

He noticed how pleased she looked when he held the door open for her and walked beside her. But it was her excitement over the mention of castles that brought a smile back to his face. "There are a couple around here to visit." While he had visited the castles and temples on more than one occasion, he did like the fact that his reason for going would not be because he was asked to; rather, because Evanna wanted to see them and just take in her surroundings. "I will say my favorite castle is the Nijo Castle. Not sure why, though. And Kinkaku-ji is more of a temple, but it has a golden pavilion."

Another group of girls walked by, blabbing on about the events that had unfolded from this morning.

"Look, we know Kayuga was your neighbor," one of them said, "but she-"

"I'm telling you, the Yakuza did it!" the smallest girl protested.

"Oh, she's confused again. They haven't found proof, and the police are sure that it was her husband's mistress."

He didn't hear much more as they kept walking in the opposite direction.

[Kei]

Excitement shown brightly in Evanna's eyes as she was told about places nearby to visit. She'd been to a castle before, but not one in a place like this. It was all very exciting. She practically bounced around Isao in her giddiness over the idea of going do a castle. She moved to walk backwards in front of him, looking up into his face and managing to blindly avoid the obstacles around her even without seeing them. It was a talent she'd picked up as a child and she only did it when she was excited.  "If it's not to far, we should start with your favorite one I think. Also, I've never been to a temple before, I'm sure it's lovely." Honestly it all had her itching to sketch the things she was being told about just to give her excitement an outlet.

Her expression went quiet and considering as another group of people passed by speaking about a death and she shook her head before facing her companion again. Something about the conversation had caught her attention though. "So many people seem really upset about something today. Couldn't tell you what, and I probably shouldn't be trying to listen into a conversation I don't understand but they are everywhere. Although, I heard a word I don't recognize - not a hard thing for me but still - and I was wondering if you'd tell me what it means." She shrugged and moved to walk next to Isao once more, lengthening her stride to keep up better with his much longer legs.

She thought about it and then asked what she was curious about. "The word 'Yakuza' what does it mean? It sort of sounds like a type of food to me." She knew it probably wasn't though considering how the conversation around the word was, but it was as good a question as any.

[PendragonXeno94]

He did grow a little concerned when she started walking backwards as she couldn't contain her excitement, but he didn't know how to perceive her ability to avoid obstacles when she was doing that. "It's maybe a ten minute walk from here, so it's not far," he told her. "I'm sure you'll find plenty to sketch there."

He paused when she pointed out some people being upset about something. "Oh. I've noticed that, too." It was best not to comment too much about it, especially seeing that he was the one to cause them to be upset. He only did what was asked of him in the way that worked best for him, nothing more. And, more importantly, he only did his job when people crossed the line for whatever the case could be. Sometime, he was never told why he had to do it, but he did trust his employer's judgement. Isao had been running with his employer for countless years at this point, even knowing when someone or something upset him.

He gave Evanna a blank expression. "Well..." he began. "The Yakuza are like the Japanese mafia. The government has been trying to weaken them and push them out of existence, there are even places that ban tattoos because that is what the Yakuza have."